Thursday, June 28, 2012

Out of all of Open-Aire's customers, it's hard to imagine one who has put his portable oxygen concentrator through its paces more than Durk Lowe of Afton, WY. Durk likes to go elk and deer hunting. But with oxygen tanks it was nearly impossible to hunt, as well as do many of the other outdoor activites he used to enjoy. His portable oxygen concentrator has changed that however. He says, "its given me a lot of mobility and I can keep doing what I used to do." And for Durk that means hunting.

He's able to go out with his 4-wheeler and travel 20 to 30 miles away from home while he’s on the hunt. He just straps his POC on the back of the four-wheeler, plugs it into the power outlet, and he’s good to go! In addition to taking it hunting he uses it when he goes fishing, and when he’s plowing snow during the cold Wyoming winters. Durk’s portable oxygen concentrator has gone a long way in making his life like it used to be.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Gertrude Gray of Festus, MO had been in a manual wheelchair for 5 years. Chemotherapy had left her with damaged bones in her foot, and a bad fall broke one of her legs above and below the knee. All of the trauma had made it difficult to walk without the help of a walker and most of the time she had to use a wheelchair. So many years in the wheelchair came with new problems. "My arms just got worn out with that old wheelchair," says Gertrude. Her osteoarthritis, along with tendonitis in her elbow, had gotten so bad that her doctor wanted her to use her left arm as little as possible. Just getting around the house was getting harder and harder.

Fortunately last month when she discovered Open-Aire Mobility Division, a solution was offered in the form of a power wheelchair. Still she was nervous about getting her hopes up. "Medicare can be hard to work with, and I didn’t want to raise my hopes too high," she says. However her Open-Aire case manager was able to work with her doctor and Medicare and in just over a month she received her new power wheelchair.

Now Gertrude is able to get around the house without trouble, and without straining her arms as she did with her old manual wheelchair. Her family is also very impressed with her new power wheelchair. "All my grandkids think it’s cool. They see me in it and think grandma moved uptown!"